The Europe program of Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) welcomed many new BVS volunteers this year, 2011--16 in all, “which is more than we’ve seen since 2004,” reports coordinator Kristin Flory in a recent newsletter. Flory works out of an office in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Jordan Blevins has resigned as advocacy officer and ecumenical peace coordinator for the Church of the Brethren and the National Council of Churches (NCC), effective March 1, 2012. He has served the Church of the Brethren, seconded to the NCC, since July 1, 2010, giving the denomination a new kind of witness and presence in Washington, D.C., and giving staff support to the peace witness of the NCC.
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Recent grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) have gone to the Rural Service Center in India and an agricultural development project of Brethren congregations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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The National Council of Churches (NCC) has condemned the Christmas Day bombing of a Roman Catholic Church in Madella, Nigeria, as “intrinsically evil.” Incoming NCC president Kathryn Mary Lohre joined Pope Benedict XVI and other religious leaders in denouncing the terrorist acts that claimed the lives of 39 people and injured hundreds.
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Howard E. Royer is retiring as manager of the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) on Dec. 31. He has completed eight years as GFCF manager, serving three-quarter time on a contract/volunteer basis.
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Church of the Brethren mission workers Nathan and Jennifer Hosler have concluded their service in Nigeria and returned to the United States in mid-December. Following is an excerpt from their final newsletter reporting on their work at Kulp Bible College of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Read more »

Robert and Linda Shank, Church of the Brethren staff in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), were free to leave as scheduled for a Christmas break, reports mission executive Jay Wittmeyer.
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Grants have been made for flood response in Thailand and Cambodia by the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF). Also in recent grants is support for disaster relief following wildfires in Texas.
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This issue’s “Brethren bits” includes a remembrance for Terri Meushaw, former administrative assistant in Mid-Atlantic District, along with notices of job openings with the Church of the Brethren and the World Council of Churches, youth opportunities for summer 2012, registration deadlines for Annual Conference and other upcoming events, plus more Brethren news. Read more »

On Oct. 20, 2010, the General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously adopted a resolution designating the first week in February to be an annual World Interfaith Harmony Week. The General Assembly called for dialogue among the different religions internationally, nationally, and locally to enhance interfaith harmony and cooperation. Read more »

Brethren Volunteer (BVS) worker Susan Pracht has completed a term of service with Church and Peace in Laufdorf, Germany--the first BVSer to serve there since the late 1980s. Church and Peace is an ecumenical organization of more than 110 corporate and individual members from all over Europe. Before departing Europe, Pracht posted this meditation on Facebook. Read more »

On Earth Peace will close the position of communications coordinator on Dec. 31, and will carry out the responsibilities of that position in new ways. Gimbiya Kettering will conclude her service this month. James S. Replogle will conclude his service on Dec. 31. Read more »

A meeting of US church leaders with leaders of the Council of Churches of Cuba concluded in Havana on Dec. 2 with a joint declaration celebrating signs of greater unity between US and Cuban churches. Sixteen representatives of National Council of Churches (NCC) member communions including the Church of the Brethren were in Cuba from Nov. 28-Dec. 2 meeting with Cuban church and political leaders, including President Raúl Castro. Mission and Ministry Board member Becky Ball-Miller was the Brethren member on the delegation. Read more »

Recent grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) have gone to the Rural Service Center in India and an agricultural development project of Brethren congregations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Read more »

This interview with Grace Mishler, Brethren member serving in Vietnam with support from the denomination’s Global Mission and Service office, is by Vietnamese journalist Löu Vaên Ñaït. It originally appeared Nov. 15, 2011, in English in the “Vietnam News Outlook” social section. The visually impaired struggle to be more independent by using a white cane that allows them to better integrate into society. “With my cane, I feel more independent in Vieät Nam. It’s my best friend here,” says American Grace Mishler, who works as a consultant at the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Read more »

“Bridging the Gap” (Romans 15:5-7) has been chosen as the youth ministry theme for 2012 by the Church of the Brethren’s National Youth Cabinet, which held a weekend meeting at the General Offices in Elgin, Ill., on Dec. 2-4. “Bridging the Gap” also will be the theme for National Youth Sunday on May 6, 2012. Read more »

Church of the Brethren mission workers Nathan and Jennifer Hosler are concluding their service in Nigeria and returning to the United States this week. Following is an excerpt from their final newsletter reporting on their work at Kulp Bible College of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Read more »

Athanasus Ungang and Jillian Foerster have begun work in South Sudan on behalf of the Church of the Brethren. Both have been placed with ecumenical partners, with sponsorship from the denomination’s Global Mission and Service program. Read more »

Becky Ball-Miller, a member of the Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board and CEO of Troyer Foods, Inc., an employee-owned company in Goshen, Ind., wrote the following reflection after she returned from an ecumenical delegation to Cuba. Read more »

News bits range from a job opening for a district executive and writers sought for the Gather ’Round curriculum, to an opening date for online registration of delegates to the 2012 Annual Conference and news from the Brethren-related colleges. Read more »

Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger was one of several officials of faith-based groups in a meeting with members of the Obama administration to discuss the issue of torture. The meeting yesterday, Dec. 13, in Washington, D.C., followed up on a letter to the administration from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) urging that the US sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. Read more »